Three members of the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta have filed a judicial review against their chief and council, as well as the attorney general of Canada over a $150-million cattle settlement reached in September.
According to the Blood Tribe, the settlement stemmed from a dispute over the government’s failure to adhere to cattle agreements outlined in Treaty 7 in 1877.
According to a news release issued Monday, Roger Prairie Chicken, Eugene Fox and Lori Scout are concerned over who has control over the money, and say they believe the settlement agreement appears to be in contravention of the law.
The trio took the legal action earlier this month with the assistance of the Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Association of Canada (BMAAAC).
“We’ve been running in this kind of a system for probably the last 30 years and no one has ever stepped up because they’re afraid,” Scout said.
“Blood Tribe members have been in the dark for too long. It’s time to create a process that increases our economic leverage while respecting our aboriginal and treaty rights.”
The group says it believes the Blood Tribe’s chief and council failed to properly consult tribe members before September’s ratification vote and did not provide enough clear information on what the money would be used for.
“The settlement agreement itself was never produced to the membership, rather it was just a summary of what’s in the agreement,” explained Rob Louie, the president of the BMAAAC.
“We say that’s not good enough.”
“I would really like to see the federal government step in and say: ‘Hey, this election was invalid,'” Scout added.
At the forefront of their concerns is alleged financial negligence.
Fox said some members still haven’t received their $2,000 payout from a similar settlement in 2019.
“The people need to know where their money is,” he said.
The group wants tribe members to have a more direct say in where the money is allocated, pointing to what they call the ‘dismal state of housing’ on the Blood Tribe, and claiming they have been systematically impoverished and misled by their leaders.
“It’s simply about accountability, transparency and having them report to us,” Prairie Chicken said.
“It’s the people’s money, not chief and council’s money.”
Global News reached out to the Blood Tribe for response but was told that nobody was available for comment at the time of publication.